The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has strongly condemned the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Information and Culture’s decision to revoke the licenses of media and journalism organizations, describing the move as a violation of the Mass Media Law and the fundamental principles of press freedom.
In a statement released on Monday, January 26, the AFJC said that the licenses of at least 10 media-related organizations have been revoked.
The head of one of the affected organizations told the Afghanistan Journalists Center that the revocation notice was delivered to him on Sunday and that the Taliban-controlled authorities have since suspended the organization’s activities.
He added that no genuine assessment of the organization’s work had been conducted, arguing that the Taliban’s objective is to suppress independent institutions and exert full control over media activities.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center emphasized that the order targets organizations that received their operating licenses before the Taliban’s return to power, during the former republican government, and that these institutions were primarily engaged in training journalists and media professionals.
A source close to the affected organizations said that, apart from the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee and two newly established entities, the Afghanistan Journalists and Media Support Foundation and the Afghan Press Center, the licenses of at least 10 other organizations have been revoked.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center described the move by the Taliban-controlled authorities as a continuation of the crackdown on freedom of expression and the media, warning that it aligns with a policy of monopoly and enforced single-voice control and could have serious consequences.
